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@einen tetes atnt @ffice THOMAS H. WIVNDLE, GEWEST CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA;

Letters Patent No. 64,613, dated M'ayj, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT Ibi-METAL SOCKET PERRUEES.'

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY vCONCERNE K Be it known that L-THOMAS H. WINDLE0` West Chester, in the county ofiChester, and'State of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in the CastlMetal Socket Ferrule for the Wooden Handle of Dung-Forks, Drugs, &c.; and 1 do hereby-declarel that' the"following isa full, clear, and enactl description of the construction and operation of the same, reference heinghad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which i n I I Figure 1 is a horizontal longitudinal section ofthe same, applied to a handle on the dotted line x of iig.' 223V'. the latter, p l i Figure 2, being a view of the outer or smaller end` of the said improved .ferrule.

Figure 3, a transverse section on the dotted line y ofi-ig. 1; and

Figure 4, a transverse section' of the same on -the dotted line z'.

Like letters of reference indicate the lsame parts when in the'diferent figures. i The object of my improvement is to produce a fcrrule for the wooden handle of. dung-forks, drags, 85e., that will combine lightnessaud'strength with better facility for`withdrawin'g -theshanks-Lo'f thediiferent imple nients or tools which are intendedgto be'used alternately in the same handle; and inventionconsists in '.maki'ng a tapering socket fcrrule of cast metal, having a comparatively thin shell;orb'odyfwilth.a square hole in the centre 4of-its smaller end,V two outside lips across the said end, and twovinsid'e'jbeari-ngs, each of the width' of the hole, and vboth of thelips and of the bearings on aline with the upper and lower sides'respectively :of the said hole, substantially as hereinafter set fortli'anddesribed'.'

In the drawings, Ais1 the shellor body, a1 the square holo in its smallerV end,ag'dthe'outside'flips, a3 a? the inside bearings, and B theuwooden handle. The-body A', lips a?, and bearings forecast 'togetheras one piece, the hole a being of such a size uas'will-it the uniform shan'ks of the dierentftoolsintendedtokbe attached.. The lips' ai af form solid bearings for theupper and lower sides respectivelylof the cross-bano! shoulders of the tool when .the latterA is inserted, while the inside bearings asas form solid supports for kthe shank of th tool, whichlts along in contact with the upperand lower sides of the former, (see the faint lines tv ,'g. 1.) lAreadilyremovable pin or .screwiits in the'hol-e o, and keeps theshank of the same securely ing-'its 'place in the socket. The wooden handle B' is slotted atitsinserted endso that itftts accurately down to the'bottom of the fel-rule 'on each side offthe bearings a3 as, as shown in jigs. 1 and The sockc't ferrules heretofore producedcither do notmdmit of changing the insertedV tool with facility, or have the hole for the Shanks of the tools cast'in a' solid endofthe ferrule, andconsequently when the parts become ruste'd, (a result which soon occurs it becomes also very diiiicult, not impossible, to'loosen and withdraw the shank from the hole without breaking either the tool or the ferrule. In this my improved ferrule it will be seen that as the shank of the tool bears only along its upper and lower sides, where the strain in using the implement is provided for by the lips a2 a2 and the bearings a3 a3, any adhesion that may takelplace from rust will rea'dily yield by slightly striking, with a hammer, the sides of the inserted tool, because the two lateral sides of its shank will not adhere tothe wood of the handle B, nor will the wood resist the loosening effects ofthe hammering; that, consequently, the substitution of one tool for another can be eected with greater facility, asA 'occasion may require; and that, as thewooden handle B extends down to the bottom of the ferrule on each lateralfside of the bearings as a3, thus dispensing with a solid metallic end, which was heretofore required for the shank-hole, thissocket ferrule is necessarily much lighter, and is also, nevertheless, quite as strong. I

I am'aware that cast-metal socket ferrules are in use which have, in the solid end which receives the single or compound shank of a fork, a square or oblong hole, against the four sides or Surfaces of which the four sides of the said solid or compound shank of thc fork t closely, for the purpose of supporting the fork in using, and also allowing the latter to be withdrawn for the purpose of changing -or repairing it, as occasion may require; but in these ferrules the shank soon becomes rusted fast, and cannot beloosened without diiiculty and the risk of breaking either the shank or the tines of the fork. I therefore do 'not desire to claim bro'adly a socket ferrule adapted in its construction for the'twofold purpose described; but, having fully described mv improvement, what I claim as new therein of my invention, und desire to secure by Letters Patent, is confined strictly to the following, viz: i

I claim, in a cast-metal socket ferrule for removable forks, drags, Btc., the two lips a2 a2, with thc upper and thc lower separate longitudinal bearings of.l al, each of the latter boing of' the same width :Ls the shank of thc fork or drag, :1s set forth, for the purposes of supporting the fork and allowinfor its shunk to be loosened with greater facility and safety in cose of its becoming rusteLl fast, as described. j

THOS. H. WINDLE. to; Witnesses:

BENJ. MoRIsoN, W. W. WOODRUFF. 

